ENGINE GETS RED HOT

[user.69169]

open station tractors don't have heaters, but they do have thermostats for a reason. I used to wrench for a living, take a thermostat out; sooner or later it'll run hot. The water is not cooling if it just flows straight through the radiator. The engine is way hotter that the radiator is cool in a short time.

Don't much matter what you used to do, shoot I used to be a fireman on a Diesel locomotive, that dont make me smart enough to lay track or work a switchtower.

You say "take a thermostat out; sooner or later it'll run hot" and I say yer full of it! A thermostat aint a whole lot different from a light switch, they both turn things on and off. A thermostat turns coolant flow on and off to the radiator and the light switch turns electric on and off to the lightbulb.

Now when we get to Diesel engines, that thermostat sits there closed till the engine gets up to a good operating temperature and keeps the engine at that temperature by either starting or stopping coolant passing through the radiator. Diesels is a lot more sensitive to operating temperature than gas engines are.

My experience both driving and being around Diesels is a heck of a lot of them get hot because the water passaged in the engine load up with crud that prevents the coolant from passing through. Then again I only been at this since we covered the nose of the truck with a tarp or cardboard sign so the dang truck would get up to good running temperature in winter and the alcohol cooked out of so you had to carry a couple gallon of Zerex. You come up to Wisconsin pulling 18 axles with 100,000# on top in January driving a truck that normall runs in Georgia and you get to learning real quick. I been told most of that crud in them engine passages is from people putting bad water in the cooling system, but I can't prove one way or the other.

 

[irwin]

I'm really surprised that this thread has turned into a thermostat theory discussion. The fact is a t/stat exists get an engine warmed up and to keep the engine at a constant temp. once it warms up, so that the engine will run more efficiently. In my 30 years working on engines for a living I've never heard of an overheating engine because the stat was removed...

Now I'll admit I don't know everything, so there might be an engine that will do that.. just haven't heard of it. The rarity of this engine will pretty much negate the possiblity that the OP has this problem.

Remove the thermostat and the engine stays cooler.... unless there are outside factors, ie: ambient temp is very high.. radiator is clogged up.. head gasket failure...cracked head..coolant passages in engine are clogged... radiator fan is bad, etc. and even with these other factors the restriction of a thermostat will make the overheating worse.

The OP needs to get to where his tractor is and see for himself what's going on. then he can come back here and fill us in.

 

[Just Bill]

Hello
This thread has made for some interesting reading.
There appears to be a split of about 50/50 in opinions.
I personally keep the thermostat in place and have had my share of trouble with them over the years.
I don't know when they were first used but I know they have been used since the 50s and probably longer.
They have never been improved and the same problems have always been there.
It doesn't make sense for that one item to have so much control over whether an engine lives or dies. Your chance to intervene doesn't last very long.
To prove your point, how about a few of the people that know that thermostats are not needed, pull them out and take a short drive.
About a 20 mile round trip should be enough to give you the info you want and you can post the results.
Its probably available but I haven't been able to find any info supporting leaving a thermostat out for any reason.
Who is willing to prove their point and provide facts and not just an opinion?

 

[doall]

Don't much matter what you used to do, shoot I used to be a fireman on a Diesel locomotive, that dont make me smart enough to lay track or work a switchtower.

You say "take a thermostat out; sooner or later it'll run hot" and I say yer full of it! A thermostat aint a whole lot different from a light switch, they both turn things on and off. A thermostat turns coolant flow on and off to the radiator and the light switch turns electric on and off to the lightbulb.

Now when we get to Diesel engines, that thermostat sits there closed till the engine gets up to a good operating temperature and keeps the engine at that temperature by either starting or stopping coolant passing through the radiator. Diesels is a lot more sensitive to operating temperature than gas engines are.

My experience both driving and being around Diesels is a heck of a lot of them get hot because the water passaged in the engine load up with crud that prevents the coolant from passing through. Then again I only been at this since we covered the nose of the truck with a tarp or cardboard sign so the dang truck would get up to good running temperature in winter and the alcohol cooked out of so you had to carry a couple gallon of Zerex. You come up to Wisconsin pulling 18 axles with 100,000# on top in January driving a truck that normall runs in Georgia and you get to learning real quick. I been told most of that crud in them engine passages is from people putting bad water in the cooling system, but I can't prove one way or the other.

you're probably right, it didn't make you smart enough. But being a mechanic is directly related to the statement I was making. I didn't say I could build the roads.

 

[Jim in ICT]

I always assumed that the people that designed the engine (gas or diesel) knew more about it than I did. I stay with the t-stat in the block.
Buy a new t-stat &gasket.
Use 50/50 antifreeze/water mix.
Clean the radiator fins & screens and flush the block before filling.
Check for collapsed hoses.
Check that the fan's pushing air through the radiator.
Make sure that there's no air trapped in the top of the block or cyl. head by allowing the system to cycle several times while running.

If you're still heating up, see a mechanic to test for oil in the coolant, or coolant in the oil and pressure test the system.

 

[works4me]

Throwing my 2 Cents in, I wonder if it is the hard working Deisel engines that mainly overheat without a thermostat?

Maybe the excess cooling capacity is less than Automotive engines??

 

[Egon]

Ah-someone once had a plugged rad and the engine overheated. Pulled the thermostat and the engine still overheated. It was the beginning of a new urban myth!:thumbsup::laughing:

Don't think I could even find the thermostat on the car let alone remove it. Think with todays engine controls taking it out would send the computer brain into a frenzy.:laughing:

 

[irwin]

Here'a a quote from this site.. How an Engine Thermostat Works

Engine Thermostat

When a thermostat malfunctions it can stick in the closed position not allowing the coolant to circulate, causing the engine to overheat. This will cause the vehicle to overheat in a very short amount of time (about 5 minutes). Or the thermostat could stick open causing the engine to run too cold. In this case the service or check engine soon light could illuminate, followed by a trouble code. To test a thermostat remove unit. Prepare a pan of water deep enough to cover the thermostat completely. Next install a temperature gauge into the water along with the thermostat. A cooking thermometer works well for this. Next, start heating the water while watching gauge, the thermostat should remain closed until the water reaches 190ｰ at this point the thermostat should start opening and be completely open at about 195ｰ. If the thermostat stays closed through the boiling point the thermostat has failed and needs replacing. If the thermostat is stuck open or broken it has failed and needs replacing. Never run an engine without a thermostat because the thermostat works as a system flow regulator as well. What this means is the thermostat has a specific opening that regulates the flow through the cooling system. If the coolant is allowed to flow too quickly through the radiator the coolant will not have time to transfer the heat it has absorbed. This will cause the engine to overheat.

I doubt the tractor in question would be overheating this quickly for this reason.

Now that it's settled let's see what the OP has to say.

 

[Egon]

If the coolant is allowed to flow too quickly through the radiator the coolant will not have time to transfer the heat it has absorbed. This will cause the engine to overheat.

Sure wish my truck understood this. If the wrong thermostat with a larger orifice is installed it just will not heat up, Brr in the winter.

 

[Ford tractor]

Hey all...I have a problem and question I'd like to pose to you all...I have a 1992 MF1250 w/ a E3AD1 Iseki engine. We recently overhauled it with all new parts; had pump sent off to PA for a professional overhaul and then after everything was put back together, I ended up in the hospital and didn't get to hear the first startup. My brother and friend, however, did and they said it got red hot almost immediately. They think it's the water pump. What do you guys think? At least, it's been in my garage, out of the weather for the last couple years. Oh, I almost forgot, I had the radiator completely overhauled too. Please help...thanks

First, what does that mean? "it got red hot" It could mean that the exhaust manifold got literally red hot from a stuck open fuel injector. It could mean that the coolant started to steam / boil from a bad water pump. It could mean the T-stat was put in upside down (a VERY common mistake). It "could" mean nearly anything --> even that it was running so good it was "red hot"!

Please add more detail and I'm sure the people here can figure it out.

Ford Tractor